Cruising Area:
There are many ‘must see’ places in the BVI’s. Each island has its own distinct flavor and unique attractions. When you’ve seen one, you definitely have not seen them all.
Tortola
The largest of the islands, Tortola Tortola offers rolling hills, picturesque views and glorious beaches lining its northern shore. Miles of roads that wind around the mountains are astonishingly steep in places and the green peaks along the southern shore provide awesome picture taking opportunities.
Nestled against the south shore of Tortola, you will discover Road Town, the capital of the BVI. Road Town was built almost entirely on reclaimed land and is the only real ‘town” in the entire country. Road Town offers visitors great shopping, restaurants and bars that provide your favorite island libations, and an open air market filled with island treasures.
Panoramic airplane-like views are one of Tortola’s most outstanding features. Although the roads are remarkably steep in places, many people hire a taxi or rent a car for the spectacular ten-minute drive from Road Town to Skyworld. The drive takes you on an ear-popping 1300 foot ascent in about eight breathtaking minutes. It’s an awesome trip in both directions. At the top is an observation deck with the highest 360° view in the BVI. It’s possible to see Anegada and even St. Croix which is 40 miles away. For lunch or your favorite beverage, there is a great restaurant called the Skyworld. Their attached Boutique provides everything from beautiful, locally-made Bamboushay pottery to local artwork and Sunny Caribbee spices.
Wickham’s Cay, is also located on Tortola and is the base for Island Time Yacht Charters. A short 15-minute ride from the modern Beef Island Airport, Wickham’s Cay is the best-located and best-equipped yacht marina on the island. Mariner Inn Hotel is located at the yacht base as well as a number of excellent restaurants, a well-equipped dive shop, grocery store, etc.
For those who want to partake of the monthly full-moon party, a visit to Trellis Bay on the north shore of BEEF ISLAND is a must! Dancing jumbies (stilt dancers), amazing fireballs, great food, live bands and dancing on the beach celebrate the arrival of the full-moon. The moon lights up the bay, the breeze is cool and the activity on the beach is always lively! Trellis Bay is also home to Aragorn’s Studio and local arts center, featuring the largest collection of local arts and crafts found anywhere in the islands. Next door, the Cyber Café on the beach offers high speed internet access.
Cane Garden Bay
Cane Garden Bay on the northwest side of Tortola, is regarded by many as one of the most beautiful anchorages in the BVI. Can Garden Bay is picture postcard material, with its white, palm-fringed beach stretching the entire length of the bay. Cane Garden’s beach is lined by several terrific beach bars for the choosing. You can usually hear the live music from the anchorage and jump in the dinghy and head for shore to rock the night away.
The Callwood Rum Distillery is a short walk from the beach and affords visiting yachts a glimpse back into history. White and gold rum are still produced from the cane grown on the hillsides.
Jost Van Dyke
Named after a Dutch Pirate, this large high island lies to the north of Tortola. With a population of only 200, this is a must see island with wonderful secluded beaches, great music, food and fun at such legendary watering holes as Foxy’s, Gertrude’s, Sidney’s Peace & Love, Soggy Dollar and Ivan’s Stress Free Bar.
Take the dinghy ashore to enjoy some of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean, Stop in one of the island bars and sample an original ‘Painkiller’ (invented here), a delicious, but potent, rum drink, as you relax and enjoy the afternoon under a palm tree. Tucked into the corner on the eastern end of the beach is Foxy’s Tamarind Bar and Grill. You can catch Foxy singing calypso and playing his guitar most afternoons. When the sun goes down, this is the location for live music and dancing in the sand until the wee hours; a legendary stop amongst charterers, Foxy’s is the place “where friends are met and memories made”.
Guana Island
At the southern tip of Guana Island is a delightful anchorage known as Money Point. Millions of gaudily decorated fish make this an excellent snorkeling stop.
Marina Cay
Ashore you will find a Pusser’s Company Store stocked with tropical and nautical clothing, unique accessories and souvenirs. A few steps away you will find a great beach restaurant offering casual dining.
Marina Cay was home to newlyweds Robb and Rodie White in the late 1930’s. His best-selling book of 1953, “Our Virgin Island” chronicled their life on Marina Cay. It later became a motion picture starring Sidney Poitier, and much of the film was created on the island.
For twenty years after Robb White’s departure for WWII, the island lay uninhabited, until a small hotel opened in 1960. His home is restored and is now the location of the “Sunset Bar” that features local entertainers and a spectacular view of the Drake Passage. The shallow, warm waters make this an ideal spot for swimming and snorkeling.
Virgin Gorda
Virgin Gorda is 10 miles long and lies 7 miles east of Tortola. A big mountain in the middle divides the island into two separate destinations. The southern end of Virgin Gorda is known as SPANISH TOWN. Here you will find the island’s most celebrated landmark, the Baths.
A unique rock formation of giant boulders with a myriad of secret pools, and caves, it’s unlike anything you will see anywhere else! The journey takes you through an adventurous route where you crawl, climb ladders and wade through water to get to Devil’s Bay. The scenery here is simply stunning; clusters of giant boulders, glistening white sand, and water in a thousand shades of blue. The beach at Devil’s Bay offers superb swimming and snorkeling.
At the top of the Baths are a number of gift shops, a restaurant and the famous Mad Dog’s. A tiny and very casual open-air bar tucked among the sea grapes. Come here for hot dogs, BLTs, tuna sandwiches, cold beer and their real claim to fame, frozen Pina Coladas.
The hottest nightspot on Virgin Gorda is Sam’s Piano Bar at the Rock Café in Spanish Town. Pianist Carl Williams delights the crowds with music and songs that spans decades from Frank Sinatra to Billy Joel to the latest hits. Take a seat around the piano bar or settle into the 1950’s style chairs or chill out in a cozy alcove in this large and dimly lit and hugely appealing nightclub.
At the other end of Virgin Gorda, NORTH SOUND is home to the Leverick Bay Resort, The Bitter End Yacht Club and Saba Rock. Leverick Bay, although tiny, is the largest “settlement” at the north end of Virgin Gorda and consists of a marina, restaurant, day spa and Pusser’s Company store. Pusser’s carries a large collection of fashionable, comfortable clothing, all sizes of bottles of their famous rum, along with souvenirs, postcards and books. The second floor restaurant at Leverick Bay provides open air dining and a bar with a beautiful, breezy view of North Sound. The beach bar offers nightly entertainment and live music.
The Bitter End Yacht Club is a unique nautical village catering to the yachtsmen, Ashore you will find restaurants, an English Pub, gifts, local art, Bitter End logo wear, and free wireless internet.
SABA ROCK
Saba Rock is a tiny island sitting between the Bitter End on Virgin Gorda and Prickly Pear Island. The island boasts an amazing facility for such a tiny rock including gardens, hotel, restaurant, gift shop, and a beach, complete with hammocks to help you get rid of that last stubborn bit of stress. Free ferry service is offered from Saba to the other docks in North Sound from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm.
Anegada
This low-lying coral and limestone island is a wildlife sanctuary and refuge for colonies of flamingos, herons and ospreys. It is also home to the rock iguana, which can grow up to 5 feet long. Surrounding Anegada you will find reefs hiding over 300 known ship wrecks and mile after mile of fine white sand beaches. Snorkelers and beach lovers must experience the wonderful north shore beaches, particularly Loblolly and Cow Wreck, some of the best in the world.
For the avid fisherman, the island provides fabulous bone fishing flats and your charter captain can arrange a guide who will take you by boat to the flats that lie within Horseshoe Reef. Cow Wreck Beach Bar and Restaurant and the Big Bamboo on Loblolly provide burgers, sandwiches, conch fritters, jerk chicken and a wide range of beverages. Just order lunch and go for a swim, your lunch will be ready when you come back.
Once the sun sets, its time to make it to one of the shore-side restaurants on the south side of the island for a cool drink and a delicious Anegada lobster dinner, cooked to succulent perfection over an open wood fire.
Cooper Island
Follow in the footsteps of Columbus to discover Manchioneel Bay located on the northwest shore. Cooper Island is a small but hilly island that has long been popular with the charter boat crowd. There is a little sandy beach fringed with palm trees with views of many of the islands to the west. For lunch you can get hamburgers, tasty conch fritters , soup, salad, grilled vegetable sandwiches and superb ratatouille at the Cooper Island Beach Club restaurant. Evening specialties include barbecue chicken, conch creole, grilled Mahi Mahi and penne pasta with chicken or shrimp. Check out the Seagrape Boutique which stocks an array of Caribbean resort clothing, souvenirs and sundries.
Sail Caribbean Divers, a PADI certified dive operation offers a full range of scuba diving experiences catering to all skill levels. Your charter captain can make arrangements for you to rendezvous with the dive boat at the Cooper Island dock. Within 15 minutes you can be diving on a spectacular reef or enjoying some of the best wreck diving in the Caribbean.
Snorkelers can take a short dinghy ride from the yacht to Cistern point for excellent snorkeling with multi-colored fish of all shapes and sizes.
Cooper Island Beach Club offers a nice little barefoot bar where you can meet a new group of people every evening who have anchored for the night.
Salt Island
While there are many fantastic dive sites in the BVI’s, the most celebrated is the wreck of the Rhone, a royal mail steamer that went down off Salt Island during a violent hurricane in 1867. Regarded by many as the best wreck dive in the Western Hemisphere, the aft section of the 310 foot wreck lies in about 30 feet of water, and the remains of the bow at a depth of about 70 feet. After almost 150 years of silent slumber, this great ship remains remarkably intact with much of her decking, rigging, steam engine and propeller still visible. Gilded with colorful sponges and flourishing corals, this wreck starred in Columbia Pictures’ treasure diving epic, The Deep.
Norman Island
Often referred to by the locals as “Treasure Island” for its link to Robert Lewis Stevenson’s novel by the same name, Norman Island is resplendent with stories and legends of pirates and buried treasure.
The main anchorage on Norman Island is the Bight. The pirate caves provide exciting snorkeling. If you are in the mood for a hike, take the track form the beach by Pirates’ restaurant to the top of Spyglass Hill for a fantastic view of the reefs located on the back side of Norman.
Located in the Bight of Norman Island is the William Thornton, a floating restaurant named for the architect of the U.S. Capital building, This 1915 sailing vessel measures 93 feet. Nicknamed the “Willie T”, stories abound about many wild nights of partying and riotous fun aboard. Pirates’ Bight restaurant and bar commands a view from the head of the bay. This is a great place to watch the sunset or have a couple of rum punches and dance the night away.
Located in the Northeastern Caribbean, (just 60 miles east of Puerto Rico), the BVI’s are unquestionably the finest sailing area in the world. The islands are more sheltered from the open ocean than other Caribbean areas and are much closer to each other. You rarely need to sail more than an hour or two to get from one place to the next.
Despite the close proximity to the U.S. Virgin Islands, the atmosphere in the BVI is very different. The West Indian people are warm and friendly, and the BVI offer peace, quiet and a much slower pace. If you are looking for miles of uninhabited beaches, deserted snorkeling places, bays where no one else is anchored, a place where you can take things in at your own speed, without crowds of other people blocking your view, the BVI are the islands to come to!
Relax, read or rest … drink in the views and enjoy the soft island breezes.
YOU ARE ON ISLAND TIME!